This invention relates to wireless telephone systems that are equipped with mobile telecommunication switching offices (MTSO), each of which is connected to a plurality of cell sites (base stations) which communicate with mobile subscriber stations, located in the area covered by the cell sites, via a wireless communication paradigm, to thereby enable the subscriber to originate and receive telephone calls.
It is a problem in wireless telephone systems to provide the subscriber with the features, flexibility and cost efficiency commensurate with the wireless communication capability of the wireless telephone system. Existing wireless telephone systems are equipped with mobile telecommunication switching offices (MTSO), each of which is connected to a plurality of cell sites (base stations) which communicate with mobile subscriber stations, located in the area covered by the cell sites, via a wireless communication paradigm. This entails the provision of a one to one correspondence between the subscriber""s telephone number and their mobile subscriber station. It is not uncommon for the subscriber to identify a multiplicity of individuals, such as family members, employees and the like, that are best served by a wireless telephone system, thereby requiring multiple telephone numbers, each unique to an individual and their mobile subscriber station. The various individuals may only have an occasional need for wireless communication service, but existing wireless telephone systems provide basic telephone service by requiring the use of a fixed telephone number for each mobile station, regardless of the level of call traffic and the relationship among the individuals.
This limitation results in the proliferation of telephone numbers, since an individual typically has a telephone number for their wired or cordless home telephone, a telephone number for their wireless mobile subscriber station, and possibly a telephone number for their work location. In a family environment, the family members may have multi-line service to their residence, with various family members each having their own telephone number and these same individuals may also have their own personal wireless telephone number. Thus, a single family can have a plurality of telephone numbers dedicated for their use even though their collective traffic represents a traffic load which can be handled by a single telephone line.
The above described problems are solved and a technical advance achieved by the present wireless telephone system for accessing multiple stations via a single telephone number. This system provides a single telephone number for a group of subscribers who are equipped with a plurality of stations, including at least one mobile subscriber station, to thereby enable call connections to be established to any one of the mobile subscriber stations in the group when the other stations in the group are in an idle state. In this manner, the single telephone number is shared among a plurality of subscribers who can use their mobile subscriber stations to roam away from their home location.
The present wireless telephone system for accessing multiple stations via a single telephone number registers a plurality of mobile subscriber stations as members of a group that is assigned a single telephone number. The wireless communication system tracks the present location of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations and their present busy/idle status. If a subscriber at one of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations goes off-hook to originate a call connection, the wireless communication system determines whether any other members of the group are presently engaged in an active call connection using the assigned single telephone number. If not, the call connection proceeds as usual. If the single telephone number is presently in use, the wireless communication system can provide one of a number of possible call processing options. The wireless communication system can: provide the subscriber with a prerecorded message to indicate the present use of the single telephone number, bridge the subscriber on to the existing call connection, deny service and provide an audible indication, such as a busy signal. Thus, the time-sharing of the single telephone number among a plurality of individuals in a group conserves telephone numbers and results in service conflicts only if multiple service requests are concurrently received. By the use of appropriate traffic engineering criteria, the instances of such service conflicts can be kept to a minimum.